vice-president biden broadly criticized f generating to controversies and last night's debate. the first is hyperactive behavior and expressions throughout the evening, and the second to mesentery within the biggest issue now facing the entire obama presidency and other terrorist attacks in benghazi in the murders of our ambassador and three other americans. on the 1-month anniversary of the tragedy, the moderator of the debate, abc news correspondent asked mr. biden

why the administration had initially talked about protests and demonstrations in benghazi when there were nine. he replied that that was what the intelligence community had told the white house. interjecting that the council had asked for more security. having blamed intelligence for the initial state, the vice president said he and president obama were not to blame for lack of security that the main factor they did not even know there have been a request for more security. >> we were told there was more security. we seven to 85 we said exactly what the intelligence units a list that they knew. lou: biden blaming the intelligence community and directly contradicting sworn testimony at a congressional hearing on wednesday where state department officials say they have requested security in had been denied.

>> it was a struggle and remained a stroke throughout my time. searle to obtain additional personnel, but there was never -- but was never able to attain the numbers that we felt comfortable with. >> i send the told director of a telephone call home, his response to that was, you're asking for the sun, moon and stars. lou: in damage control mode. it was only the president and vice president who were unaware of the big guys security request. and he went on to ay that such security matters are handled by the state department. >> libya, the buck stops in the state department, not the white house. >> television phrasing, but. >> he does not make those assessments.

>> there are thousands of diplomatic personnel around the world and those decisions are apprriately made at the state department by security personnel lou: campaigning in a rally in richmond today governor romney seized on the vice president's remarks promising that a room the ryan administration would do better. >> we need to understand exactly what happened. have our rights and that is what's going on. u: taking all of this up with former ambassador john bolton who says, his comments are an admission of incompetence and the obama administration, either state or the white house. also, the head of the largest tire share business in the world tells employees there will be fewer jobs and less subsidy if president obama is reelected. and what is behind the biden of last.

psychoanalyzing this marks, flintridge, and behavior of the evening. or first guest says biden's blunder is an admission of incompetence and says it is a risky move leaving secretary of state hillary clnto out on the lam. joining us to a former u.s. ambassador to the united nations, fox is contributor john bolton. ambassador, let's go first to the idea that when jay carney was trying to create some buffer, some comfort cause some zone by saying that vice-president biden was only referring to himself and the president of the united states when he said that he knew of no such request. your reaction? >> well, i cannot believe that. that is why there is a national security council staff at the going on at the state department at the defense department, to make sure that the critical issues are brought to the president's attention. this was obviously a very high-risk posed and, indeed, it was opposed where al qaeda

killed our ambassador. the entire national security staff to list? biggest if so and his comments seemed to indicate that the maid is the state department's responsibility alone, want to know what is going to the mind of diligence and right now and, perhaps an even more importantly what is going to the mind of bill clinton that his boss, secretary has just been determined the bus. lou: well, the author of the book, the best seller, new york times best selling but the amateur on the obama administration today writing for the daily caller saying that he is aware now of a rift that has broken out between the clintons and the obama lighthouse and much of that divide has been created by the way in which the secretary of state has been treated in this -- in what is now becoming , one could say a controversy, a scandal in

benghazi. >> there is a lot to go around. that is for sure. part of it comes back to the famous appearance by my successor, susan rice on five sunday talk shows to explain that of the violence in the middle east was just a spontaneous reaction, a demonstration and got out of control because of the video. querulous hillary clinton? she is responsible for our embassy in diplomats. did she say, another area and pedaling on sunday shows? is the word began? there was a lot here that remains beneath the surface. this is a hole in their world view, policy, disastrous failure, and i hope we can follow-up on it. lou: we have to keep, if you will, the instances distinct.

we are talking about our new horrible foreign policy disaster on one level geopolitically, an immense human tragedy and the assassination of our ambassador in three other americans. and then we are talking about an absolute wall that hs been put up around this of restoration refusing to let us understand what happened and why and refusing absolutely to acknowledge that there are serious challenges to the idea that this foreign-policy is, in fact, a workable policy album. >> and that may be the explanation for the post tragedy spanned by the administration, that their ideology which blind them to the threat and the first place, which either caused a gap in intelligence or a refusal to ask for the intelllligence. had to be interpreted as something other than a resurgence of al qaeda.

evidence on the war on terrorism was still very much with us and that sweetness and light have now broken out and libya. the president really, especially given vice-president biden performance ought to be questioned on this at the next two debates. this is the commander in chief we are about to pick. here's an example of this commander-in-chief not being the bridge when he was needed. lou: put some distance between these elements between what is a tragedy and the immense challenge to u.s. special interests. there is a political aspect. what if, and i ask this -- i want this to be your judgment. is there, in your judgment to any possibility that political decisions were driving decisions on security in an gauzy, driving decisions about what would be shared with the american people, driving decisions of the fbi

would be used in this case giving the perception that the fbi is being used to block any further inquiry into who is rese for failing to provide security and secondly, within that, there is an immense issue of this administration now directly attacking our own intelligence community in blaming them in a political context for what is object the a failure on the part of a demonstration. >> well, i think there is no doubt that there were political or ideological factors of drought this decision making. if you really did it to the point that this could have been avoided with enough lead admission. using a near libya to reestablish a base, something

vms version did not want to hear. i think they're riskier ministrations saw him would be communicated in a lot of ways. the people said there was no political pressure. you don't need that to make your point clear. by blaming the intelligence community fifth, that is a ridge line of argument from people who were critical of the bush of ministrations intelligence. lou: thank you. much more on the appearance of the white house cover-up on the issue of benghazi. we will take that up with the "a-team" air tonight. consumer confidence may be soarg, but ceos are war rejoice talking with one who has told its workers and a ball of victory and highertaxes would mean disaster. david sigell of west state resorts next. the biden and ryan debate is now history. to top political strategists to

tell us to one and will it matter? ed rollins, doug shown are next.

♪ lou: the vice-president smile or just being joe, or was it something else? differing views, and they will be joining us in moments with their analysis and insight. joininfirst, however, to the markets. stocks coming up early gains again. the dow of two and a half points, not%, points. the s&p and nasdaq down a fraction. the nasdaq of its longest losing streak in almost two months. for the week of three major indexes down more than 2% this, the worst week for the market in four months. all of this as consumer nfidence unexpectedly soared. last month the highest level in

five years. meanwhile, gasoline costs driving producer prices higher, up 1%. in corporate news tonight gp, wells fargo bought -- both reporting big profits. chase down more than 1 percent annabel's fargo done to nap%. personal investing courtesy of former vice president al gore. increased his net worth 50 fold from a modest 2 million to 100 million of dollars. according to the washington post reported all he has to do was to invest in green technology companies that benefited from a modest two and a half billion dollars in taxpayer grants, loans fell and tax breaks. there you he it. a path to riches. turning back to politics and the race for the presidency, voters split on who won last estimate. according to a cnn poll

48 percentaid ryan was the victor. a cbs poll showing 50 percent say biden one. by a larger margin. joining me now to discuss the debate, its impact, if any, former adviser, fox is political analyst and veteran campaign strategist and former reagan political director, and it is great to have you both here. but, your impression of that debate. lofty, elevated, eliminating. >> and of the above. [laughter] at the end of the day the president was missing in action. look like he was on valium. joe biden should have been on valium last night. >> thorazine. >> something. >> he obviously did what democrats needed, he went out and basically beat the daylights out of both the candidate and the candid he represented. the candid, i think his performance diminished any chance that he can tap of people taking more seriously.

lou: i want to interject, talking with two leading psychologists about what they thought about what was transpiring and in the behavior, the conduct of both candid it's honesty chichen night. with other will be interesting analysis. vice-president biden, did he do what he had to do? >> i think substantially. i must tell you, i agree with ed and with where you're going. i thought what he did stylistically was just plain weird. i worked with candid it's. would you try to teach them in towson to do is to be assertive, yes, but accessible and friendly. i thought biden failed on the latter two. lou: how important, what impact, what influence will this debate and its outcome as forseen by the voters who will go to the polls on november 6th him how profound will it be? >> this will be done, saturday and live will do a big profile of this.

there will have a field day. talk shows on sunday me talk a little bit about it and then we are getting prepared for the second presidential bid on tuesda. if romney does well on that he is on his way. lou: and obma. all of this taking place in, if you will, the shadow of an event in which president of of was just last in that debate. he was absolutely dominated by goveor romney. what happens now? now you have a controversy over the way in which vice-president biden onducted himself with his condescension and aggressiveness . what is their left for the president? >> about the only long standing impact of the debate is democrats, some of whom were fired up because biden shows -- shows life and aggressiveness. the president, by comparison, was asleep and almost

sleepwalking. in bottom-line, what is left for the president, he has to wake up, be assertive, but not to what biden did and also protect himself on your first topic, libya. this is a huge, huge political and sustain the problem for the white house and the president's reelection. lou: as i said at the outset of the broadcast, it is the one issue that he stepped right into with his answer saying that neither he nor the president knew there had been a request for security, even though it was ming two days after the public testimony of the security officials arrested department officials who pt that testimony before congress and the american people. so he didn't know. >> see also but the intelligence community under the bus which is not a good thing to do when you're in this kind of environment. they should have stepped back from the story, found out what the facts were, but they got in bed with the government and they have no idea who this people are. lou: they've been the

administratiin. >> no idea what's going on. no idea is that television is alive and well. we should have had become a big suspicions. lou: the last word. >> i think ee is right. this is a tight election. the momentum is with governor romney in the has not close the sale. he was the debate he will be in a commanding position. if the president does, we will be back in a dead heat for. lou: gentleman, as always. thank you. well, coming up, a man who built his company in says his workers have the right to hear him speak straightforwardly about where he sees that business had it and wh he sees as the prospect for new jobs and new opportunity, the owner of west state resorts. vice-president joe biden has some interesting ideas on how libya compares to syria. we will have that as well. he goes on and on and o.

♪ lou: president obama's reelecting him our next says he could be forced to start cutting jobs. owner of the largest privately held time shirt company and the world. he said, that he sent this e-mail to is 7,000 emplyees saying, if any new taxes are levied on me or my company as our current president plans to my will have no choice but to reduce the size of this company. this means fewer jobs and less benefits commensurately less of an agenda for everyone. joining us now, david sigell, was a resort founder, president and ceo. good to have you here. you have -- and we should put in context, you have gone through, as as everyone else, a very tough for years following the

economic crisis. what prompted you now to write that note to your employees? >> as you said i went through very bad for years. we were when i call fat, dumb, and have become a doing a billion dollars a year in sales. i have 12,000 employees. we were growing 20% to yer. here four years later under te obama administration we are doing half the amount of sales of we were doing. we had to cut our force from 12,000 to 5,000, and we are growing 0% a year verses that 20 percent before. i have lived through this last four years. i can be a monday morning quarterback and predict what the next four years under president obama will be like to my and i wanted to tell my employees

exactly what to expect if, in fact, they re-elect president obama. lou: there is nothing academic about an election, as of politicians seem to be confidence and insistence upon saying, if they win the elections, elections have consequences, but those elections have brought consequences that are not often discussed in the business community. markey will come a billionaire in his own right said he treated this, suggesting how your employees should vote is exactly to create problems among workers and to reduce productivity. you know, you weren't't telling your employees at all how to work, but what is your reaction -- how to vote. what is your reaction to what mark cuban said? >> well, i'm not telling anyone how to vote. is their right to vote the way they choose. and telling them what will happen if, in fact, we don't

elect governor romney as president. anfour more years, four more years of obama will mean thatwe are going to have o tighten our belts even further to lay off more people. and once it becomes uncomfortable for me to come to work every day, how seriously think of retiring. lou: as you talk about governor romney being reelected, great questions, particularly in the national media about what will he do, how quickly he can do something. there is no specificity to his program or plan for governance. if elected what makes you so confident that he is the better choice? is it his ideas or simply the experience of the obama policies? >> look. i have all large company, and i am looking for a ceo. i have to applicants. i have governor romney that has

years of experience in building businesses, making perils and i have president obama that has no business experience and who i going to hire to run a company? the answer is simple, romney. well, the country is like a big company. we need a ceo. do we want to attacks on the west as i said, lots of experience in making payrolls, hiring people from building companies to our do we want someone that has only political experience? the answer, i think, is very simple. we want governor romney to be the next president. lou: davis sigell. thank you so much. we appreciate you being year. more on presidential politics throughout the broadcas as we focus on the political economy and the "a-tm" joins us here later. >> to manage matter? what to the means?

the vice-presidential debate looks to the scuffle between california democrats. we will show you the unlikely combatants. and with only three weeks in three days to go into election day, clear politics showing only nine states solidly in the obama column. the "a-team" is next.

from maine to maui, thousands of high school students across the country are getting in on the action by volunteering in their communities. chris young: action teams of high school students are joining volunteers of america and major league baseball players to help train and inspire the next generation of volunteers. carlos peña: it's easy to start an action team at your schoo so you, too, can get in on the action. get in on the action at actionteam.org. ♪ lou: we will get to the real deal. vice-president biden is demeanor overshadowing many of thessues discussed last night and debated. the vice president grinning, laughing, smirking during congressman ryan's answers. republican national committee calling the behavior enhanced. joining us, people here know about and hands come here to talk. the vice presidents to meter, congressman ryans demeanor, and

last estimate. psychotherapists dr. rob ludwig, a psychologist, adjunct political professor, osteopathic medicine. thank you for being here. a lovely debate that we had. and biden has stepped into it. everyone is focused on those 82 interruptions. what was that? >> it was strategic. it was definitely strategic. he was upstaging ryan, and when you look at the way the camera angles were, rght next to each other, he knewe was being a distraction. what was uncomfortable to watch was out devaluing he was. that was just a bit uncalled for, and i think ryan handled it with dignity. suddenly biden knew what he was doing and was quite effective call you think about it. >> he channeled all democratic party. he knew what happens to is boss. it was like with romney and the

president got to mombasa's go at one another. one says to you have to go like the other guy. teach him a lesson, and you hae said give us back to where we were, and that is all that joe was looking for, and -- lou: working to his base. >> absolutely. he had to make up for president obama, and he knew he could get away with it because he has this persona of being battled crazy. lou: he is 27 years he senior, and there is this something about being in the game for a long time. the spontaneity. whether you like what he did not guy he was comfortable. he was kind of in the flow. lou: definitely comfortable. >> having a great time. more of a statesman in doing that because of the seniority, instead of wiping the floor, as some people said to me could have been much more instructive and showed his class a little bit more.

lou: wiping the floor, that is a metaphor for something, and then turn to understand what. the split decision as to one. >> that is malarkey. lou: another interesting word. the two had a little discussion, but that spontaneity, the comfort that he has talked of the part of the vice-president. women, independence, according to the polling call the not too impressed. could costdearly. maybe it will have no affect at all. >> i think it had note of fact except for it is fun to talk abt, but the ttom line is that don't think any line for changed as a result of this debate. it was fun to watch, interesting, and that big we get to see paul rain and a different way. he did very well. at like teddy kept his composure. >> but i think this vice-presidential debatewas a little bit more relevant than the ones in the past and that joe biden could not have lost

that particular debate. he could win, and i may not make a difference, but if he lost the debate with what happened with president obama, that could have been a debacle. lou: discuss with you the facts. it who avoided and who crest back rather than supporting and offered back. and it is fascinating. i don't think it will have any impact whatsoever on the perception of the have come, except this, benghazi. the vice president's unintentionally stepped into it when he said that the president, nor he knew about the security request. that is already -- that is turning into an explosive moments, one that is now going to be driving further coverage of from what is already a natial issue and scandal,

potentially in the making for this demonstration. how -- what appened that he would even make that mistake? because the last thing one would think that this man is comfortable, acclimated through 40 years of public service. has the flow. how is it that he step so far into it and messed up. lou: i think when you are charged in that way, like biden on steroids, biden just on his n. it's like biden on steroids. steroids and red bull. you tend to, perhaps -- lou: trading energy drinks. >> i don't think he needs them. but he was energized by the moment and knew what he had to do. lou: he felt like he could have been in the right because didn't obama and dry and both say they did not know whether was a terrorist attack right away. lou: but eveone else did, apparently. it seems to me it peculiar

dense to say it is okay, just the president and vice-president of the united states who don't know what's going. >> what is it that he could have said? yes, we did not, should have known. lou: here is a radical -- if i may proffer something radical the would be, i think, just an exclusive response, the truth. i know that is an untested. the think there is going to be an insistence. i really do. it is going in -- >> but people don't make -- boat based on foreign policy for the most part. >> but the way that it is changing. lou: kiddy have done better in the early he handled was a manic strategy on the part of the vice-president >> i think he did very well, and we get to know and. kudos for the job he did. >> said think he was very long

winded, thrown off his game, but i admire the fact that he tried to stay focused and was very factual. >> you was not thrown off. lou: the stories of mainstream, you know, these situations of how people talk -- lou: how long when it was the congressman? >> long winded. >> about the way that i was right now. lou: thank you very much. appreciated. up next, don't let the class is full you. federal lawmakers to my have to tell you, they have the physical side. we will show you exactly what is going on and tell you why they were a little worked up. why is obama deputy campaign manager stephanie cotter finally playing on libya? can you cover-up a cover-up? is the possibility? we will explore that. be sure to join us next week.

here to talk to his new book and the president's mission of distribution. doctor, attorney, army officer, a former nun, and candidates for office in this city illinois. she is quite something, and we're coming right back. stay with us.

lou: obama deputy campaign manager stephanie kutcher is not normally shy about her role as an attack dog for the obama administration, so we found her interview last night and a bit odd to say the least. listen. >> the administration did not know that we need a more security in benghazi. state department officials said their request and more security for the consulate as early as march. >> i did not get that exchange. >> you did not cassette exchanged. >> no. lou: well, i mean, is hard to spend it if you don't know about

it or ignore it altogether. perhaps the stratagem of some sort. a fact check we cannot let go from last night's debate. here is biden's thought someone intervene in syria is a bad idea. >> iis a different country. it is five times as large geographically. it has one-fifth of the population that is libya, one fifth the population, five times as high as you graphically. lou: actually, libya is ten times the size of syria. we just had to bring that to the vice-president attention. in the vice-presidential debate, not only -- ot the only heated contest last night. get ready for this. to veteran democratic congressman from california battling for a redrawn district nearly coming to blows at their debate. at issue, congressman brad sherman accusing congressman howard berman and taking credit for introducing the. >> translator. yangon. [applause]

engaged. [inaudible conversations] lou: wow. and an officer had to step on the state's. congressman says there is no question that the congressman introduced the. >> translator: spirit issued a statement saying he regrets the exchange. there you go. just a little california politics for you. up next, running mates slugging it out, make a difference or is it all about the obama-rodney rematch six weak? we will talk about that with the "a-team" walking this way toward the studio. they are john is 42.

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♪ lou: joini us now, the "a-team" james, the debate. what did you think? this looks to me like a terrible blunder on the part of the vice-preside to go int the answer that the avon benghazi. >> yes. it was quite strange. it is clear that he administration did not know what it was doing and drop the ball with benghazi. it was not just that they did not know of the security request, but, you know, sending susan rice out to say this was a spontaneous and the station about the video and they held to that for a long time and would not say was a terrorist attack,

this is stunningly incopetent and perhapsdisonest t. >> the to the intelligence community and of the bus, by later in the debate when it came to iran we would know if they have a vessel are bomb because of our intelligence, but whch one is is? >> the idea that this vice-president attacks the intelligence community, it was likely to be a refge for the illustration at some point, but to do so directly in a blistering the as the vice-president said last night, is that a big mistake in your judgment? >> i don't think it matters to modestly. both, agitated, but as a political issue, too big strikes. one is the vice-presidential debate which in the end we know does not matter, frankly all that much. a major blowout. and secondly, benghazi, what courses of americans can even find it on a map? >> people died.

americans -- lou: it does not matter. >> i am in the camp that if we are doing is analyzing the political importance of the ands like that, it don't matter to much. lou: the fact that you judge that it will not matter means that you close your mind to exploring what the right and wrong of it is? the propriety of it? >> oh, no. i am deeply interested in all kinds of things that don't have huge political. lou: as to what the laws of masking. >> sure. >> with the vice-president. >> i think that in the end i can give complex answers to these. listen. there is a facts -- >> the question is can you give a good answer? >> and not sure of give one that you agree with but i give you the most honest, i've got. listen.

clearly there is a need the part of the administration to be simpatico with the intelligence community on this, and there was some tension created in that debate, no doubt about it. however -- lou: sentence in. >> however, in the end i suspt that most people, including those in the intelligence community in the administration will recognize this for what it was with the basically this week a piece of political theater underlining and otherwise -- >> go before capitol hill and give testimony on what they knew, when they knew and security was asked for by the consulate. they need more security. the vice-president said does not true. you n't think -- >> i don't think that anybody expects our security at every single embassy and consulate they're around the world is impervious to attack. >> they have marines. imine gauzy we didn't. >> no one expects it to be perfect. >> to tie together the politics and the merits of this, the obama administration spent one

week, two weeks arguing, just about the movie company for this nonsensical line. i think that the reason for doing this was political. they were hoping to kick the can down the road, hoping this uld fade out of public view. lou: was a cover-up? >> i don't know if i would use that term, but it was an effort to -- it was an effort to evade accountability. %-would take the exact attitude that is being talked about here and say, well, we don't know. who knows. the economy and so forth, not that is in any great shape for them either, but -- lou: this is changi its shootout and the specter of the american people to follow suit and last night, use your, it -- common sense. >> here is the reality. it confirmed every single persons -- and frankly we're proving that the table right

now. it. lou: you are in a dismissive mood tonight. >> deceiving actually. >> you have come to a decisive conclusion. the instant benghazi is the matter, the pate de of the debate itself and for the convenience of the already convinced, of no interest to the undecided or those who are looking with high hopes for some clue as to the direction they should send the country with their vote. >> you know, i wish that all of us approached every one of these things with fuly in the open lines. i think that the facts don't bear that out. lou: but i did not interpret you correctly. >> oh, absolutely. we know how of swing voters, so you can count on most of your hand. >> kardashian million of them. lou: concentrated in some rather important dates with status to the next point which is that apparently governor romney has overcome an insurmountable odds and has now drawn even in the battle ground states.

i know that is of no impact in your world. >> that actually matters. lou: i find it interesting. the fact that the electoral college now, as we look at politics, i mean, that race is extremely tight. your thoughts. >> it is, and what i think is a travesty, last night by this was clearly trying to satisfy democrats. but last night was supposed to be about gaining independence in women voters, and biden -- lou: let me interct. we are looking at a map. a 20-. spread between president obama and governor on the right now. it had been approaching 100 for crying out loud. your thoughts on what governor romney has to do to seal the deal? you get the last for. >> said bikinis to do more of what he did the first debate which is to be dominant by showing his coo mastery of policy and facts.

lou: all right. thank you. we appreciated. good to see you. they keep. up next, a viewer weig in on joe biden's below will recall it, disappointing performance. we will go to the in-box next.